Fun, Fellowship and Family – APA Is Bringing People Together

by Landon Willis

APA is an important organization in the Bay Area that serves the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community, but its services are open to all. On August 24 2025, APA held their Anniversary Block Party in China Town. The anniversary day commemorates cultural identity and the community bonds that the organization has been creating for years. The event featured game booths for the families, cultural performances, live entertainment, and an auction for fundraising. The organization also invited the Mayor of San Francisco, Daniel Lurie, to attend the event. The mayor expresses profound appreciation for APA and other organizations like it. Lurie recognizes the importance of such organizations and continues to say, “There is no better investment as a city or as a community to make than in our children, and we have to keep investing in zero to five and make sure our kids get off to a strong start.” 

This event is one of the many ways APA builds and strengthens a community of over two thousand people. However, the organization has not always been as broad. Recently, APA was awarded a grant from San Francisco Kaiser Permanente’s Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign to help expand on their services.  

What Is APA? 

APA Family Support services was originally founded in 1987 by Dr. Don Wong, who was a pediatrician at San Francisco Hospital. Dr. Wong was inspired to start the organization after seeing the struggle AAPI families faced and their lack of resources due to language and cultural barriers. 

APA’s mission is to promote Safety, Wellness and Economic security for at-risk youth and families. They also focus on providing culturally appropriate services for all their clients and they do this by considering each client’s background in all of the services they provide. A prime example of this is the Parental Stress Line which is designed to provide support for those with language barriers and the hotline has over seven languages available. 

AAPI Struggles 

According to the National Institute of Medicine, “Approximately 8.6% of Asian Americans sought mental health services compared with about 18% of the general population.” This information was from an article written in 2017, but more recent data still shows mental health is still an issue among AAPI groups. A 2024 article from TAAF (The Asian American Foundation) conducted a study on those from AAPI backgrounds and found that 48% scored above the threshold for moderate depression, 93% receiving some form of racial discrimination and 55% not wanting to burden their parents by seeking help.

Mental health is not the only issue that these families face. According to EBRI, (Employee Benefit Research Institute) Pacific Islander national income and asset ownership is shown to be lower than national figures. In addition to the other issues listed the National Domestic violence hotline has recorded, “Up to 55% of Asian Women in the U.S. have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lifetime.” These statistics show what the different issues AAPI groups face in the United States.  Yet, how does APA as an organization provide the resources to combat these struggles?  

Bringing Families Together 

One way APA provides these sources is by bringing families together. Earlier in March , Asé  and I, special reporters on the San Francisco Kaiser Permanente’s Voices for Mental Health and Wellness Campaign,  had the pleasure of interviewing the Senior Community Outreach and Training Manager of APA, Barbara Chung. She gave a detailed breakdown on all the resources their organization provides.

APA has 6 areas they provide service for: 

• Behavioral Health: This program is for kids who struggle with mental health and behavioral issues who are Medical eligible, but lack access to mental health assistance. It utilizes formal counseling for the families to help kids have better behavior in and outside of school. 
• Home Visitation:  Home Visitation is another mental health resource for families but instead focuses on the parents and engagement in activities that help them with understanding their child’s development. 
• Enhanced Visitation: Visitation for parents removed from child’s care and are involved in child Welfare. This type of visitation creates safe environments for parents to visit their kids and for Visitation Supervisors to make sure children are being treated properly. The Parental Stress Line is also a part of this program.  
• Youth Development: Helps build assets for youth by preparing them for future job searching and strengthens professional skills. 
• Economic Success: Aims to provide families with all the tools necessary for economic success in all aspects of finances. 
• Family Resource Center: Last but not least the China Town, Excelsior and Visitacion Valley resource centers help create community for families. These sites offer many group workshops to bring parents and families together. 

APA Family Support Services continues to bring families together through shared resources and community love.

The post Fun, Fellowship and Family – APA Is Bringing People Together appeared first on San Francisco Bay View.

Source: https://sfbayview.com/2026/04/fun-fellowship-and-family-apa-is-bringing-people-together/